Luna's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lolita-bat
Summary: A mysterious mirror has transported Luna Gale into a futuristic wonderland. But is everything as wonderful as it seems? The world is in shambles, still recovering from an ancient war, and a tenebrous government rules over all of North America.
1. The Beginning

The linoleum floors squeaked against my wet shoes as I sprinted down the empty hall towards first period. Rows and rows of red lockers streaked by, and my backpack thumped against me back in protest. I shot a furtive glance at my watch, grimacing at the little arrows telling me the bell was about to ring. Up ahead I could just make out my destination, the dull once-red door gleamed like a beacon of hope at the end of the hallway.

Rrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnnnnggggg! '_Ah, man...'_ I thought as I sped up in a last ditch effort to make it to the door, '_dang it, Dang it, DANG IT!_' My shoes shrieked against the the tiles as I swung to a stop, grabbing the frame of the door for dear life as it whooshed violently open. As if the door slamming open hadn't been enough to attract the attention of the class, my shoes slid out from under me with a horrifying squeak. I managed to cling onto the door and at least not fall on my butt, which I took as a good sign, but my face was none the less hot with humiliation as I squeaked down the long aisle of desks to sink into my the back corner seat.

My teacher raised a gnarled black brow at me, his glaring blue eyes causing my already drumming heart to bang painfully in my ears. I swallowed down my pounding heart until it was out of my throat, and returned his icy glaze with an fearfully apologetic one.

"Late again..." Tutted Mr. Rink, pacing across the front row, squinting at a stack of papers over his half-moon spectacles.

"Ye-yes, Mr. Rink but you know I-"

"I know your situation Luna, and your little job isn't an excuse for being tardy."

"Yes, I know but I-"

"Detention. After school," He gave me a hard glare, his ghostly blue eyes glinting, "Don't be late." With that he turned away from the class and began to write on the board, beginning the lesson.

I glared back at him now I knew he couldn't see, frustrated that my dark mahogany eyes would have the same chilling effect as his blue ones... It wasn't possible for me to be scary. I sighed and fished my english notes out of my backpack, looking over the doodle-filled margins. The girl in front of me turned and placed her arm on the desk.

"Luna, you have to stop being late for this class! Mr. Rink is going to give you saturday school if it happens again this week, and then we won't be able to do anything fun!" She whispered, brushing her short blonde hair over her shoulder.

I sighed and pulled out my sketch book, ignoring my best friend for the moment. My pencil flowed over the paper, scratching out the rough form a tea set. That was why I was late...

"Charity," I started, looking up at her, "Today someone wandered into the shop with an authentic 19th Century Antique Limoges Moss Rose Tea Set... that set goes for over 300 dollars if you can find it on the internet, and I was the only one in the store, because Ms. Ramona was running errands, so I had to buy it myself. Then what with setting it up, explaining everything once Ramona came back, and having to walk to school from the store on top of it all, of course I'm late! How much can one person do!" I hissed, clutching my pencil with a death grip.

Charity sighed, "Well, Ramona shouldn't have you working in the morning in the first place..."

"Yeah, well... she is and there's nothing I can do about it."

I focused back on the front of the room where Mr. Rink was explaining the many 'complexities' of sentence structure, and as _interesting _as that subject was it didn't hold my attention for very long.

The bell announcing the end of the period felt like rain after a long drought, all the students leapt for the door in a frenzy as Mr. Rink shouted out one last reminder about the night's homework. Charity and I lagged behind the stampede to gather our books before walking out into the now crowded halls.

"So," Charity started, adjusting her grip on her books to pull her long and stripedy gloves further up her forearms. "What's your deal on the custody situation? Are your relatives still fighting over you or can my mom just adopt you already and be done with it?"

I giggled a bit, but a hard lump rose in my throat as I was reminded of the still quite recent demise of my mother, leaving me orphaned and alone. "Oh, still fighting of course..." I sighed, fingering the gold wing-pedant necklace, the only reminder I had of my mother. "It's not as though they even want me." I growled, "They just want my mom's money." I sighed again, blinking away the tears that were gathering at the edges of my burning eyes.

Charity put a reassuring arm over my shoulder and rubbed my arm comfortingly. "Don't worry too much about it." She soothed, "Besides, the longer they argue, the longer you get to live with me at my house."

I allowed myself a smallish grin at that, and leaned into charity's shoulder, wiping at my eyes with my free hand, " Thanks Char." I sniffed, giving her a one-armed hug, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

After school I walked with Charity to her car and gave her my backpack to take home with her.

"I'm picking you up at five o' clock right?" she asked, shouldering my purple pack.

"Yeah, don't forget." I said with a slight grin, giving her a quick hug before she got in her car and drove off.

In the classroom Mr. Rink paced back and forth in front of the room full of 'delinquents'. His calm demeanor was betrayed by the large vein throbbing in his neck. I watched it pulse angrily under his skin in gross fascination from the back row. My ipod was tucked safely inside my right boot, my cellphone—shut off as a precaution—hid in the other. I knew Mr. Rink wouldn't see them there like he would in pockets or purses. I also had a few pages of drawing paper mixed in with the homework in my chemistry book. My previous time in detention gave me the experience and incentive to come in well prepared.

After all forms of entertainment were locked away in a drawer, Mr. Rink sat down at his desk to 'monitor' us for the next two hours. What fun. I crossed my legs and discreetly wiggled my ipod out of my boot, slipping it into my pocket, then threading the earbuds through my sleeve so I could jam in secret.

Creature Feature rang comfortingly in my ear as I pretended to do homework. The room was silent as usual... Mr. Rink only gave out further punishment for talking, so no one bothered. The shifting of a chair brought my eyes up to the boy next to me, my eyes glinting from behind a curtain of dark bangs. The boy flashed me a slimy smile, a very creepy-friendly, slimy smile. My gaze descended to my shoes. Ick, he was greasy looking... from the top of his dirty-blonde head to his gritty, too-big skater shoes. I bit my lip to keep it from curling with distaste, and arched a cynical brow at him before returning my attention to my drawing.

My head jerked up abruptly at an all too familiar tutting coming from beside me. I grimaced as I saw Mr. Rink towering over my desk.

"Tisk, tisk, Luna." He simpered in a falsely disappointed tone—god I was sick of his incessant snark, "Drawing in detention? You know better." In a flash he had snatched my sketch off the desk, and without so much as a glance at the page, tore it down the middle.

I gasped, eyes wide, and my hands moved towards the paper, only to drop back into my lap. Angrily, I clenched my jaw, balled up my fists in my lap and stared resolutely at the desk. I took a deep breath and squeezed my nails into my palms, trying to keep calm. This was too much, I couldn't take another minute with this man. But I didn't look up, I merely glared furiously at the desk, which was easier to intimidate than my teacher.

Mr. Rink let out a snort of laughter and strode with heavy steps back to his desk. He folded his long, bony fingers around a pen and began to write. With his gaze safely away from me I was free to glare unabashedly at him, and I did.

'_You want to let me out of this room_.' I thought, putting all my anger into my gaze, and every once of my conviction into my thoughts. 'You, Mr. Allen Rink, are going to let me out immediately."

Mr. Rink's pen halted on the paper, and his eyes went blank, as though he had just remembered something. "Luna," He said in a matter-of-fact voice, his eyes not leaving his paper, "get out." He blinked once, then continued writing.

My eyes widened, and my mouth popped open into a little 'o'. But I quickly recovered, gathering my papers and high-tailing it out the door. I didn't dare look back as I flitted down the hall, and I barely breathed until I was safely out of the building. Then I stopped, eyes still wide with shock, my breathing a little ragged.

I squatted down to fish my cell phone out of my boot, and hit Char's speed dial, holding the phone shakily to my ear. She picked up after the first ring.

"Luna?"

"Come pick me up, you won't _believe_ what just happened." With that I hit the end button, and snapped the phone shut.


	2. Through the Mirror

Through the Mirror

ch. 1

I was back at Char's house, in my room, waiting for sleep. I lay on the bed, half covered by the blue comforter and thoroughly entangled in my sheets. I had tried to sleep, but my whole body ached like I had run a marathon. I turned onto my stomach with a sigh, gazing into my familiar reflection in the free-standing mirror next to the bed. I pondered the dark, angelic curls falling around my pale face, maybe I should cut them off... I was sick of this hairstyle.

A movement caught my eye, I looked back to see what had moved, but nothing was there. I frowned and turned back to the mirror, gasping in surprise. The face of the polished glass was undulating like the surface of a pond after a stone was thrown into the water. Ripples laced out over the surface, distorting my face and the room around me like a Piccaso painting.

My breath caught in my throat, and I couldn't help but slide off the bed to kneel by the mirror. I watched my deformed reflection reach out for me the same moment I moved forward to touch the glass; my finger tips meeting their twins on the surface of the rippling glass at the same instant.

I blinked in surprise, gasping as my hand was sucked hungrily into the glass. I pulled back violently, but only succeeded in sinking deeper into the mirror. My shriek of terror was cut off abruptly as the rest of my body was pulled through the circle of glass, and into the abyss. I tumbled head over heels into what seemed like a vortex of dark, swirling colors. I clenched my eyes tightly shut, repeating to myself over and over, _'it's only a dream, this is just a dream'_. But I had never in my life had such a realistic dream, most of them were blurred and foggy, this was as sharp as a photograph.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the end of the vortex, I don't know why but I didn't want to end up there. I stretched out my legs and arms grasping for anything that might slow my hurtling progress towards that dark end; sure enough the movement threw off my course and I was flung into the side of the torrent. Falling through the wall was like diving into a wave; a cold, wet sensation seeped through me, but when I landed on my knees I was completely dry, though admittedly far from warm.

When I looked up there was no trace of the vortex I had been trapped in. I was kneeling in the center of what looked like a victorian style living room in London. Why London? I don't know. Dreams have a funny way of telling you things like that. I jumped to my feet, running to the door; feeling the irrational fear of being trapped that I could never seem to shake in dreams. The door opened smoothly on perfect hinges, strange for a house that seemed so old. I dashed into the hall.

The farther I ran the longer the hallways seemed. The house was beautiful, the walls were covered in wonderful royal purple wallpaper with swirling black patterns all over it, and the hall was lit by candles about every five feet or so. I kept thinking how much I would have loved it if it hadn't been for the lingering terror that dogged my footsteps. The maze of long corridors seemed to never end, and there were no windows. A feeling of panic reared its ugly head, creating a knot under my rib cage, my chest felt tight with claustrophobia... I had never been claustrophobic, why did I feel this way? I had once been crawled through a tunnel in a cave on a field trip. We had no light, and the tunnel was so narrow that you could touch the sides of it all around you. About half way through the tunnel the person up front got stuck trying to figure out how to climb up out of the hole at the end. Everyone else was stuck down there with no light, in a very cramped space, with only the people in front and behind you for any sort of guidance. We were stuck for at least twenty minutes, but, unlike my friend Charity who had been terrified, I didn't feel scared. It even felt nice to sit in the quiet dark space.

This was very different, my breath felt labored, and I got dizzy. I was absolutely terrified. Behind me the sound of soft, deadly footsteps echoed off the walls. I spun around, but saw nothing but the door at the beginning of the dark hallway, the door at the opposite end seemed very, _very_ far away. I heard the footsteps again... but closer this time. I gasped and ran for the door, dashing towards it desperately, not daring to look back as I heard footsteps running swiftly and nearly silently behind me.

I was nearly to the door when something caught my ankle, sending me crashing painfully to the floor. I reached out towards the door, it was open just a crack and through it I could see moonlight streaming in, bleaching the purple carpet a dull gray. A light breeze blew my hair across my sweaty face.

An amused chuckle drew my eyes away from the door and up to who had tripped me. I turned onto my back, pushing myself into a sitting position. I shrieked as a man crouched over me, pinning my arms together. I thrashed helplessly in the grasp of the terrifying figure. He was tall and very thin, and seemed to be made of shadows. He had no face, only a huge, pointy toothed grin that curled at the corners, and glowing white eyes with no iris or pupils. I screamed again, but a long clawed hand covered my mouth. The man leaned in, his grin wicked and lopsided; he looked crazy. His mouth opened wide as a crocodile's as he lunged for my face.


	3. Impossible

Impossible

ch. 2

I sat bolt upright in bed, clutching my sheets to my chest. Sweat ran down my cheeks and neck, leaving trails of icy cold on my skin. I slumped down into the bed with a sigh of relief, looking around the room. It was pitch black, so I sunk back down into my pillows, I would look again when my eyes adjusted.

I must have fallen asleep last night and not realized it. I ran a shaky hand through my slightly wet hair, brushing the tangled strands from where they suck to my sweaty face.

I jumped as a muffled groan sounded from somewhere very near me. I stared down at the spot, my eyes wide. I was only able to make out the outline of the heap of tangled sheets in the darkness. As I stared, the pile shifted a little, and I heard someone sigh heavily. I yelped and fought my way out of the covers, I was still in my clothes from last night... I must have fallen asleep in them.

The room was slowly coming to life around me as my eyes adjusted, and it wasn't good. This wasn't the room I had fallen asleep in last night. I thought back to the crazy dream, and shook my head. What I was thinking couldn't be true... didn't make sense.

Squinting through the dark, I spotted a window. Blackout curtains were drawn across the pane, but a sliver of rosy dawn light was visible through the miniscule gap between the drapes. I crept to the window, careful not to trip over something in the dark, and threw the curtains open dramatically, letting the crimson pre-dawn light flood into the room.

I spun around, quickly noting the pale gold walls and sleek, black furniture. I also noticed that everything seemed oversized, like it was made for a basketball player or something. The person laying in the bed, which was also huge, was extremely tall... and handsome. His long black hair had a healthy gleam to it, and curled slightly at the very ends. His skin was a pale alabaster which stood out dramatically against his hair, and he had a narrow face and fine cheekbones. The boy clenched his eyes against the light and rolled over, grumbling inaudibly.

With one more glance to the sleeping boy I ran from the room, yanking the door open as quickly and quietly as I could manage. I skidded out into a narrow hallway with a _huge_ floor to ceiling window spanning the entire east side. I turned around towards the oversized door I had just exited, closing it carefully. There were two other doors—both the same too-large size as the other one—in the long hallway. One was at the end of the hall, I presumed that was the exit, the other was right next to the door I had just come out of. I padded to the door at the end of the hall, and tried the handle. As it turned, I heard a strange clicking sound from overhead. I looked up—still clutching the handle—and saw a small dial near the top of the door frame. I watched it closely as I turned the handle further. The dial switched colors as I turned the knob, each color sliding into place with a small 'click'.

I stopped on yellow and opened the door, stepping into a gigantic, high ceilinged room. The east wall of this room, like the hallway, was a floor to ceiling window. The view was stunning, a river ran past the house in a gentle curve, it's waters glittering in the sangria sunrise. Huge trees towered all around the house, creating a black lace of branches against the red sky. If you looked farther out to the horizon, A mountain range was visible through the trees, its dark outline huge and masculine.

"Hiiiiiiiisssssssss!"

I gasped, spinning around toward the angry sound. I ducked just in time to avoid the mass of black fluff that hurtled over my head, yowling viciously. The little creature landed softly on the floor near the window, crouching and looking at me with distrusting, luminous yellow eyes. Despite my shock, a smile crept across my face. It was a little griffin! It was fluffy and soft looking, about the size a house cat, it's lion's tail twitching agitatedly behind it. The glossy blue-black wings quivered by its sides, as if preparing to take off on a moments notice. It sunk into a low crouch and stalked towards me. I settled on my haunches and held out my hand, making sure not to blink too much or make eye contact in case I appeared threatening. It didn't really cross my mind that griffins weren't real, after all... I was probably still dreaming.

The fluffy creature looked up at me skeptically, then cautiously inched forward. After a moment of tense silence, the griffin, with a little huff, nudged it's head under my hand and purred contentedly. I grinned, scooping the fluffy thing up into my arms, and snuggling it close. The purring grew louder next to my ear, amplified by closeness and by the downy-soft fur brushing my cheek.

The little griffin was, after only a few seconds, getting tired of being held, and wriggled uncomfortably in my grasp. A small clatter from another room caught my attention and I crept over to the wide, arched doorway in the wall. I peeked around the corner and gasped, spinning back around away from the door, clutching the griffin to my heaving chest. Oh. My. God. Strolling about in the kitchen were two huge figures, each towering over my height like giants, and though they were thin as willows the height was intimidating.

I sat back against the wall, breathing hard. The griffin squirmed in my arms and made a loud sound that was somewhere between a squawk and a yowl. I gasped and shushed him desperately, my heart pounding like a frantic bird against the bars of its cage. I fervently hoped that the two people hadn't heard anything... I'd be dead for sure if they found me here... I could feel it in my bones.

"What's up with the fuzz ball...? He sure is making a lot of noise." Asked a male voice in the kitchen, while a cacophony of metallic clanks echoed in the background. I tensed at the sound of footsteps coming closer, and clenched my jaw as the boy came closer to the archway, his shadow looming across the floor next to me. I kept one hand firmly clamped over the griffin's beak... the other pressed over my mouth to hush the sound of my frantic breathing.

"Oh, he and Zar are probably going at it again... Darn it! I left the sea salt we got from the 1800s at home. Can you run and get it?" This time the voice was female, and seemed to be the person who had been looking in the cabinets.

The footsteps stopped just before the living room and the voice sighed, the footsteps echoing further away again. I nearly melted into the floor with relief when the boy turned away, his hulking shadow retreating from view. My arms went limp, allowing the griffin to wiggle free and run into the kitchen, licking his fur regally as if to say. 'Oh my goodness... I can't believe you would have the gall to touch me Human...'

"See, knew you would forget something." The giant boy chided, I heard the girl giggle slightly, then there was a rustle of feathers-which was certainly odd, was there a bird in the kitchen?-and silence reigned once more.

'wake up, wake up, wake up!' I thought desperately, clamping my eyes tight shut, and squeezing my hands into fists. I counted silently to thirteen, then opened my eyes... only to be in the same place as before... I bit my lip until it hurt... oh man... this was it... this couldn't be a dream! In a last ditch effort I pinched myself, just to be sure... yeah, it hurt.

I started shaking nervously, my eyes brimming with tears. 'Oh no, oh no, oh no!' I thought, scrambling to my feet and peeking around the door again. The griffin was rubbing up against the legs of the girl, who was tall, and thin, and willowy, and _gorgeous_... She looked like a super model. I gulped, and looked around... but I couldn't for the life of me find an exit that didn't involve getting caught, and quite probably beaten to a pulp.

I took in a shaky breath and crept away from the door, hiding instead behind the huge lounge couch.

The sounds of cooking came from the kitchen, and an enticing waft of air carried the smell of scrambled eggs to my nose. I gulped and willed my empty stomach not to grumble. The sound of feathers again caught my attention and the boy's voice spoke again.

"What'cha listening to?" He asked the girl.

"You." She teased. "Would you get the rest of those potatoes shredded for you and Theo's hash-browns. I dislike hash-browns..." I could hear the distaste in her voice... though I couldn't conceive how anyone didn't like hash-browns.

I buried my head in my arms, my breathing refused to slow down... Oh I was so terrified! I was so dead! There was no way out of here! I was trapped! A soft, rustling gait caught my attention, and I huddled closer to the couch, trying to be as small as possible in case the person looked in my direction.

A tired voice came from the door I had come through. "Why are you guys up so early?" The sleepy voice asked, a hint of annoyance coloring its tone. "I wanted to sleep in today..." The voice and the foot steps paused. "What is that?"

I cowered into the couch, it was over... I was dead. The foot steps came closer and then stopped just a few feet from my inadequate hiding spot. I braced myself for the worst... yelling... hitting... possibly some "get out of my house you crazy kid!" sort of talk… all that bad jazz. But none of it came...

"Are you ok?" said the same voice as before, this time sounding concerned.

I dared to look up, my eyes growing huge with fear... he was even taller than I remembered. I laced my fingers together and brought them against my lips.

"Oh please don't hurt me! I didn't mean to break into your house I swear! I just woke up and I was here! And and... and this isn't a dream because... I mean, I t-thought it was, then I bit my lip, and I pinched myself! And it hurt! Which means I'm _not_ dreaming! Which means this is bad! And oh my gosh... you're all really big! And you could just squish me right now... and-and-and I don't want you to 'cause I'm still... _I'm_ still really confused, and I want to figure this out before I die! And you really... really... shouldn't-"

The boy was blinking down at me with bright gold eyes, a grin playing across his face. He chuckled and brushed the tears of my cheek with his thumb, I cringed away at first, then looked up at him in confusion.

"Calm down." He said, smiling at me. "My goodness. Why would I squish you? Come and have some breakfast with us and maybe we can figure this out."

I looked up at him, a blush creeping over my cheeks. No crushing? No hitting? No yelling? Wow, that wasn't what I had expected. Was I being stupid before? ...Probably... I took a deep breath and grasped the hand offered to me, following the boy into the kitchen.

"Oi, Theo. Who're you talkin' to?" The girl asked, poking her head from the kitchen, spatula in hand. She blinked her rainbow eyes then pointed at me. "Oh it's you!"

A blonde head poked out of the kitchen and blinked in confusion, "You who?" The boy from before asked the girl, but she ignored him.

"'Bout time you got here. Now do you like your eggs scrambled or over-easy?" she called walking back to the stove. The boy frowned, then shrugged... he was apparently used to the girl's strange ways.

I blinked, even more confused than I had been before. "Um... over-easy...?" I muttered uneasily, making it sound like a question, following the dark-haired boy into the kitchen and to the stools lining a big island.

Theo-at least that's what I _thought_ they had called him-sat down on one of the stools and looked at the girl with the rainbow eyes. "How did you know she would be coming?"

The girl looked away from Theo her face claiming innocence. "Oh, no reason just... um... a feeling?" she offered, knowing it was useless.

"But that doesn't matter right now..." she turned back to finish cooking, brushing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

I wasn't really paying attention... I was too busy with trying to figure out how I was going to climb onto the high bar stools... I felt like a toddler in this kitchen. All the counters and everything were just as tall as the people using them.

A gruff voice came from the living room. "You guys are up? This is stupid... Why aren't you sleeping?" Footsteps were heard crossing the room, and a boy identical to Theo walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. I blinked... he was also extremely tall... what was up with this place?

The boy saw me and tilted his head in confusion. "Oh my goodness... you are... very tiny."

I glared at him, angry enough to scrape up enough courage to speak. I had been short for my age up until tenth grade and it still made me angry to be called 'tiny'. "No I'm NOT! You're the ones who are freakishly tall! What's going on here?"

The first boy, the blonde one, walked over to me and grabbed me about the waist.

"Here I'll help." He soothed, lifting me up and setting me on the stool as if I were light as a feather. He smiled kindly at me then turned and thumped Levi up the back of the head, "Be nice to our guest." With this he turned back to me. "I'm Kain." He introduced with a grin.

"And I'm Jinx!" The girl said as she was moving food and other things to the island. Kain walked over to give her a hand, and asked her, "Is this why you were up last night?"

Jinx shrugged, "I don't know, I'll look into it later. But definitely not here." Kain nodded his agreement.

The boy with gold eyes looked over at me, smiling the sweetest smile I'd ever seen. "I'm Theo."

His twin, still rubbing his head, also smiled warmly. "I'm Levi."

I looked down at the granite counter tops... they were stunning... black with gold and white swirled in, and spots of red garnet... but that didn't matter... I looked up. "I'm Luna..." I said, smiling nervously.

Jinx clapped her hands together and rubbed them, "Good, now that that's over, let's eat!" she began to dig in, but not before giving me a smaller plate and my over-easy eggs.

"So, Luna, what are you doing here?" Jinx asked.

"You're not some government agent looking for Jinx are you?" Kain joked laughing, receiving an elbow from Jinx, who glared at him. "What I was just joking!" He complained, rubbing his side.

I looked down, taking a whiff of the eggs... they smelled delicious. I picked up my fork, and took a bite.

"I don't know... I just woke up here... In your bed actually..." I admitted to Theo, blushing fiercely. "I kind of freaked out... I'm surprised you didn't wake up."

Levi snorted into his orange juice, nearly spilling it everywhere. Then looked up, wiping his face and chuckling. "Oh, please. He would sleep through the texas chainsaw massacre... I love super old horror movies."

I frowned, taking another bite of egg. "That's not an old movie... well... not _that _old." Theo and Levi gave me identical questioning looks.

"What it _isn't_... right?" I turned to Jinx and Jay for back up. "Right...?"

Kain looked at me nervously. "What year do you think it is Luna?"

"It's 2010..." I responded cynically. "Has been _all_ year."

Levi and Theo sat in a sort of shocked silence.

I frowned at them. "It is! It's 2010! October 28, 2010. I went to school yesterday, and my teachers said it was the 27th... so today is the 28th..."

I looked around the shocked kitchen, slightly annoyed by the bewildered looks I was receiving. "What?"

Kain frowned then placed a hand on my shoulder, "Sweet Heart, it's not 2010, it's _2310._" He glanced at Jinx who was holding her face. "Jinx, you didn't have anything to do this? Did you?"

Jinx lifted her head, "No, I just knew she was coming." Jinx leaned forward, looking intently at me, "Have you had any odd dreams lately?"

I nodded, still frowning. "yeah, I got sucked into my mirror... It didn't seem like a dream... I never remember going to sleep... But it had to be a dream. But-" I took a shaky breath, looking at all of them, my voice raised up a few octaves.

"-so what? Who cares? You guys must be crazy it's _not 2310_ that would be three _**hundred**_years in the future that's... that's impossible..." my voice faded away, my eyes welling up. "T-that's impossible..." I bit my lip, looking down, blinking rapidly to dispel the traitorous tears.

Jinx's eyes went all watery and Jay gave me a one armed hug.

"It's okay, it's okay. No need for that." he said, comfortingly, I sat still, tears rolling down my cheeks... Everyone I knew was dead... It couldn't be true... It couldn't be.

Jinx nodded, "It was probably a time wrinkle, Remember the last time we delt with those Theo?She must have had some kind of connection to this time period that pulled her through."

Jinx now talked to me, "Luna, in your time, did you ever watch this TV series called Doctor who?" I nodded, I had liked that show.

"Good, that will make explaining this easier, The Doctor described time as a 'wiggly-wobbly timey-whimmy thing'."

Kain rolled his eyes and began to eat again.

"Well that's like what happened to you, a cross of the timelines. The dream was more of a mental portal so that your mind could accompany your body through the jump." she then munched on a piece of bacon, thinking.

"Hey Theo," She asked, "You don't think she's a gifted do you?"

Theo sat forward, elbows propped up on the counter and nodded thoughtfully.

"Now wouldn't that be something..." He looked at me as I wiped some left-over tears woefully from my eyes. "Have you ever done anything weird... something you couldn't explain?"

I sat up a little, leaning a bit into Kain, and cleared my throat.

"Now that you mention it... " I said, sniffling and wiping the tears from my cheeks ashamedly. "I did do something weird yesterday..." Well, yesterday three hundred years ago. I had been late for school, "I was in detention, because was two seconds late that day," I frowned at the injustice of the sentence, "and all I could think is that I wanted to leave, I was staring at my teacher and thinking, 'Just let me out!' then he froze, and said in a kind of funny voice, 'Get out Luna.'" I imitated his raspy voice, making it as evil as I could... that cruel, cruel man... I looked back at Theo. "Does that count?"

Theo nodded eagerly. "Yeah! That's perfect. Think she's a manipulator Jinx?"

Jinx clapped her hands together excitedly, "Oh how exciting! The government always gets their hands on them first, so I was never able to meet one in the flesh!"

Kain laughed at Jinx's excitement,

"Oh you just like people who are different like you." He poked her in the side and she yelped, then attacked him back, holding onto his shoulders as he stumbled away from the table, heading for the couches, trying to get Jinx off his back.

I blinked at Jinx and Kain, tilting my head to the side curiously, a sort of hiccuping giggle escaping me. I was smiling again. Then I looked at Theo. "What's a manipulator?"

Theo shrugged. "Someone who can control people's actions and memories... like with hypnosis in old movies... except hypnosis doesn't work that way in real life, it can't make someone do something they aren't inclined to do..." He paused and grinned. "You, on the other hand, could make someone commit murder if you wanted to."

I shoved a whole egg in my mouth, then talked with a hand over it, too eager to wait to swallow.

"Oh my." I said in a muffled voice, then gulped the egg down and asked, "So it's like really special or something?"

"It's a gift darling! You're a gifted!" Jinx called, dramatically waving her hand above her head as she sat on Kain's shoulders, then continued to smack away Kain's hands as he tried to grab her off of his shoulders.

"We're all gifteds you freak!" Kain growled at her and finally got his hands around the laughing girl. He pulled her over his head and held her in his arms like a cat.

I frowned at that comment, my face pulling into its default expression for confusion, my nose wrinkling and my lips pulled to one side of my face like a contortionist. I turned back to Theo. "So everyone has powers... like super heroes?"

He nodded. "More or less... some less heroic than others... some down-right pointless..." He tilted his head, a little grin hinting at the edges of his lips. "But if we're right about your powers... which we usually are... then you're special even by our standards."

I looked away, chewing the inside of my lip thoughtfully, and shoved another bite of egg ungracefully into my mouth.

Theo's twin leaned over the counter to look at me. "But what are we going to do with her?" He asked rudely. He turned defensive at my glare, "I mean, no offense, you're super cute and probably talented... but we don't have any place for you to sleep or anything."

His twin glared at him. "We can't throw her out on the streets Levi! She'd be dead or snatched up by the government before sun rise tomorrow!" The boy looked at me with a glint of protectiveness in his golden eyes. "No one in this house is going to let either of those things happen to you Luna. I promise." With that he shot a waring glare at his twin, who shrugged non-committaly.

"I never said anything about throwing her out." The black-haired boy scoffed, giving me a dashing smile. "She can sleep in my bed if she wants."

I blushed and looked away. "Hell no, you perv! In your dreams."

"Well I just thought that you two..." Jinx glanced between Theo and me a few times with her mouth open.

Kain, who had returned to the kitchen, called, "Staying in the present please, love."

Jinx took away her unpointed finger, "Right... Well then I guess it's a good thing I added another color." she shrugged and threw a hand gesture towards their magic door. "Come 'ere, come 'ere!" she chimed excitedly, dragging me off my seat and after her to the door.

"Okay if you look at the handle on our door there are different colors, Kain's color is the dark blue, mine is the purple, the gold is Theo and Levi's, Green is to the deck and," she ran her finger over an empty spot on the handle and silver appeared when her finger was gone, "silver is yours. Each color represents a room."

She turned the handle until the color wheel spun to land on purple. She pushed the door open and inside was what I assumed was her room. Before I could get a good look she pulled it shut and turned to the green. On pushing it open again, a beautiful deck surrounded by the forest, and a river in the distance could be seen. Finally Jinx turned the handle to the gold and opened it to the windowed hallway I had come from. Just looking down the hall made me blush, I looked down to hide it.

"Each room is in a different house scattered through this forest, if you twist the handle all the way you'll come out into the house your room is in. The forest is owned as private property under my friend Leo's name. He is a very important prince of the Africas, all one country now... unlike during your time. Anyways, you try it!" she stepped back so I could try to find my room.

God, this was weird... I'd been here ten minutes tops, and I had a room! I stepped tentatively forward, taking the handle and turning it until the color in the window was silver, then pushing the door open. A grin spread over my face as I stepped into the large room.


	4. Somewhere to Belong

**Somewhere to belong**

_Ch. 3_

A huge bay window dominated the wall opposite the door, the bench-like sill was covered with textured pillows in all shades and patterns of blue. The bed in the middle of the room looked like a giant egg shell, with colored lights illuminating the space between the walls of the pod and the mattress; the sheets and the comforter were also turquoise. The walls were robin's shell blue, except for the wall with the window, which was black. The ceiling was high and airy looking, the floor a dark hard wood, cut not into planks, but as if the tree trunk had simply been sliced open length-wise so that the planks weren't uniform, but curved with the natural shape of the trunk. The floor had several plush carpets in different shades of blue, only the one under the bed was black. The window was framed by wispy-looking, sheer white curtains.

"Oh my gosh..." I muttered, stunned, walking at first slowly into the room, then running about excitedly. "This is awesome! How did you know blue is my favorite color?" I asked Jinx, looking upside down at her from my spot in the middle of the huge pod bed, which I had immediately jumped into. I flipped over. "In fact... How did you get all this put together in the first place?"

Jinx grinned as she saw my face light up, then paused as I asked the question, she turned to find Theo glaring at her, arms crossed.

"Ah don't give me that look! I didn't break the rule!" She held up her hands defensively. "I've told you before I have no control over my dreams, that's how I saw her coming and this room, I promise. _And_ Kain checked it for me just in case." Theo rolled his eyes and gave up on his glare.

Jinx walked into the room to answer me.

"Well first off you should know that I have the ability to look into the future, we call it foresight when it's not controllable like it is for me. This," she looped a finger around her white ribbon necklace, "dampens my powers a lot so I can do things like cooking without things getting all weird, and it also hides me from the government... but that's a story for later. So, with this I can only foresee things 13 minutes into the future, when I'm trying, or when I'm dreaming I can sometimes get glimpses of the future. As for how I made the room... Let's just call it magic." She grinned kindly and winked at me.

My gaze drifted to Kain's lean figure as he leaned on the wall just outside the door, drying his hands with a towel.

"So this is what you've been doing. Looks good Jinx." he smiled at her and she beamed back, positively glowing... literally glowing...

Jinx then looked back at me very seriously, "Are you sure you want to stay here?"

I frowned, confused. "You mean I could go back?" I asked... feeling a bit torn. Jinx nodded solemnly. I bit my lip, thinking of my life back in 2010. It still kind of freaked me out that I wasn't even in the same time... I thought of all my relatives, fighting over custody... over my parent's money; my only friend, Charity... Poor Char, she'd be worried sick about me. But...

"I want to stay." I responded solemnly, "This, here... it's better than anything I could have if I went back." My eyes filled with tears and I choked on my words. "My parents are gone, I only have one friend, my relatives don't care about me... they only want my mom's money." I took a shaky breath, wiping my cheeks with the edge of my sleeve. "She just died last week... I didn't go to the funeral. I couldn't stand to... I still remember my dad's funeral... I was ten. Everyone felt so bad for me, they kept telling me that my father had died painlessly... that he hadn't known what hit him." Tears rolled shamelessly down my cheeks. "I wanted them to stop... To stop talking, and crying, and comforting... It only made things worse." I looked up at Jinx. "I couldn't go through another parent's funeral... I knew it would be the same... worse even." I bit my lip. "My mother was murdered... and now I'll never know who did it..." I took a deep breath "But I don't care... I don't want to know."

Theo was looking at me with shock. "That is _so_ sad." He said, walking over and pulling me into his arms, I stayed there, enjoying the feeling of his gentle embrace around my shoulders.

Jinx had tears in her eyes as she listened, but when Theo hugged me I saw her smile through a gap in his arms.

"I understand your pain. Even though I didn't have anyone to lose, I have no family either, save for this bunch of misfits." She ruffled Levi's hair affectionately. "You can send back a message if you'd like, we can do that, right Theo?"

Levi shook out his hair to put it back in place. "Theo and I are _not_ misfits." He complained... "So what if our dad is a psychopath who wants to kill... us..." He faded off. "Ok. So maybe we're all just a little strange."

I smiled out at Levi through Theo's arms, feeling very comfortable, and much better now that I had finally gotten my bottled up feelings off my chest. I sighed, snuggling into Theo's arms.

"Yeah, I'd like to send a message to my friend Charity. I just want her to know that I'm ok... and that I'm better off where I am now. She'll understand."

Theo nodded. "I think we can do that."

Jinx nodded, "Alright then." she quickly grabbed a pen and pieces of paper—probably out dated now. "Here write your message." she handed me the paper before going back and grabbing some more. On them she drew intricate circles, lines, and symbols. She then placed them in specific points around the room.

"Make sure you tell Charity not to show that to any authorities, I don't know if there are many gifteds in 2010 yet, but I don't want one getting back to this time."

Once I was done with my message Jinx took the paper and tied it into a roll with a blue ribbon sitting on a glass desk. She stepped into the center of the room and closed her eyes to concentrate.

"Luna, would you please hold the image of your friend's room or something like that in your mind... Thank you."

Suddenly the room got dark a moment and Jinx started glowing, her hair whipping around her face hectically, she held the note out, taking a step back from it as it floated into the air. Suddenly she opened her eyes, revealing purple irises, even the whites of her eyes were glowing indigo. A tear appeared in the air next to the note, the rip expanding into a hole and sucking the paper into it before it collapsed into itself, evanescing completely. Jinx's hair stopped writhing, and her eerie glow faded as the lights flickered back on.

Grinning, the girl turned back to me and said, "Well, that went much better than the last time!"

I grimaced at that... Last time? That didn't sound good.

Theo gave me one last squeeze, then stood up and walked over to stand by his twin. I looked between the two several times. Scary symmetry... I suspected even if I knew them really well I would still mix them up.

I stood up and walked to the door, turning and blinking curiously at Jinx. "What day is today?"

"Wednesday."

"Why aren't you guys in school?" I asked, tilting my head to the side curiously.

Theo shrugged, "We have today off."

I narrowed my eyes—lucky people, getting a day off in the middle of the week—and turned the dial to yellow, the magic door still fascinated me. I stepped into the living room again and paused, looking at the floor. A little lizard was strolling cross the floor in front of me. It stopped with one arm suspended in the air and looked up at me, exclaiming in an almost dignified tone.

"Mmm-aa-hh."

I held her hands over my mouth and 'awwwwed' over its cuteness, kneeling down and scooping the little creature into my hands.

"You, are the most adorable thing I have ever seen!" I exclaimed in a lovey dovey voice, cuddling my cheek to its smooth head.

The little lizard eyed me with a green-hued, sandy eye and mah-ed again before watching another person walk out of the room. Kain walked out and paused next to me, the lizard wriggled out of my grasp and plopped onto the floor, waddling into Kain's outstretched hand.

"Ah, there you are Newt. Where have you been?" Kain asked, holding the little creature up to his face. The lizard mah-ed once again and walked off the end of Kain's hand, landing with a dull thump on the ground. "Newton is a miniature sand dragon," Jay explained, "but he doesn't have the telltale green fin because he's only seven years old, so he still has to eat food, rather than a sand dragon's normal photosynthesis." Kain walked off towards the kitchen, Newt striding off after him, obviously determined to get to his fresh-fruit breakfast.

Jinx grinned,"Well you're probably wondering where all our pets are from?" she turned, rubbing the head of a tiny horn-tail dragon sitting on her shoulder. In fact I was, and I nodded to confirm her suspicion. I mean sand-dragon? Who'd ever heard of such a thing?

"These days, we have an online site where you can design your own pet, who is then genetically engineered to your pleasing. Their attitudes, however, are a completely different matter."

I stared at her for a second, blinking wide-eyed at the thought of customized pets. All I could say was, "Sounds expensive..."

"Oh it is." Jinx assured me, smiling and ignoring the tiny dragon as he crawled all over her shoulders. "But very worth it." She plucked the dragon off her shoulder, nuzzling her nose against his snout. "You're the light of our lives aren't you little Zar?"

Zar made a disparaging noise between a hiss and a gargle, and blew a puff of smoke into Jinx's face. She merely giggled and threw him into the air, where Zar glided in circles before swooping up to a ledge high up on the wall and munching at some dry food in a bowl.

Theo, who had been standing behind me, suddenly let out a huff, and stumbled backward. When I spun around, alarmed, I saw the griffin from earlier. He was curled into a ball in Theo's arms—which he had evidently hurled himself into—purring contentedly.

Theo looked up, "Oh, this is Vincent," He said, grinning and rubbing the fuzzy head, "Vinny for short. He's the last of our pets... If I can get Jinx to stop bringing things home." He gave her a pointed look, at which she shrugged.

"No promises..." She scoffed, then turned back to me. "We have plans for tonight..." She looked me up and down. "So we're going to have to get you some new clothes... and hair." She tapped her nose thoughtfully. "I bet some of my kid clothes would fit that tiny frame of yours. Come on!"

With that she grabbed my arm, dragged me to the door, and pulled me into the purple room—her room. She peeked around the door and glared at the twins—Kain was still getting Newt's food. "You two! No peeking!" She announced, slamming the door closed, the click of a lock close behind.

This was gonna be weird...


	5. Misgivings

Hello everyone... or rather, just one person... most likely... *coughcough*

Anyway, hi! I've finally managed to write another chapter! YAY! This one is from Theo's POV, but it's still in first person, it was a little challenging to write it like that for him since I've never done it before but I think I got the hang of it.

I'm not too thrilled with the beginning of this chapter, but please stick around! I promise it gets good at the end!

If you like this story, pleeeeaaaaase keep reading! It's been a bit slow up to here but the interesting stuff is finally creeping up on me, so bear with me for now!

I'm always happy to look at any questions, comments, or suggestions you have; so please comment!

As always, love you readers and comments are very much appreciated. Enjoy the chapter! (I hope)

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Ch. 5

I sighed and flopped onto the couch, resting a hand over my face. My mind was racing; who was this girl exactly? Why was she here? Was she an Operative? The System had been after Jinx for a while now…maybe they were sending a decoy to finally catch the rogue teenager. Then again, I trusted the little girl, and her thoughts seemed genuine enough… but if that was the case, then how had she gotten here? The Ops must have had something to do with this situation, and she was a manipulator, which was an extremely rare power. Maybe… just maybe-

"Theo." My thoughts were interrupted by my brother, who had sat down next to me, "You think too much. We should just roll with the punches on this one, we've delt with worse before."

"I don't know Levi." I said, letting out my breath in a gust. I lifted the hand from my eyes and stared at my brother. "Nothing like this has ever happened before… not anywhere." I looked up at the ceiling. "I want to trust her, but she's a manipulator, she might be hiding something from us." I paused, thinking again. "Or she could be brain-washed, a more powerful manipulator maybe…"

"Well, I think she's tiny and cute, and I trust her." Levi said in a decided tone, getting up from the couch and walking towards the kitchen. "And I think you should too, because even if she is being controlled I think she needs our help."

That was a legitimate point. I sighed and stood up as Levi disappeared into the kitchen. I paused as a throaty purr sounded over my head, looking up just in time to see a hurtling projectile of black fur coming at my face. I yelped and ducked just in time, forcing the griffin to bank sharply mid-air and land on my shoulders with soft, silky paws. I ruffled the feathers on Vinny's head, laughing at his antics.

"Nice aim fluffy," I said with a chuckle, and walked with the griffin draped around my shoulders out onto the deck.

The red-stained wood was smooth and warm under my bare feet, and the fresh air did a fabulous job of clearing my head. Vinny jumped from my shoulders and stalked along the railing, chasing birds' songs with wildly swiveling ears. I leaned on the railing; arms crossed over each other, and stared blankly at the trees now tinged with gold from the almost risen sun. The sound of the door sliding open behind me made me blink and turn to investigate; what I saw made me grin widely.

"Luna, you look so…" adorable, sweet, charming "...nice." I said, my eyes squinting into a wide smile.

"Oh, thanks…" She said, tugging at the edges of the large-on her anyway-purple shirt. Her face looked a bit downtrodden, as if she was upset. I could have read her thoughts to find out for sure… but that would be rude.

"Is there something wrong with the clothes?" I asked, glancing over the outfit, it didn't look bad to me, even if everything was just a bit big on her. The shirt had clearly been modified by Jinx, the front held up by a ribbon tied around Luna's neck like a choker, leaving the wide neck to hang loosely over the tiny girl's shoulders, the collar hanging almost half way down her arms.

She looked down, scuffing the large chunky boots she was wearing against the ground, her face squished into a pout. "These are clothes from when Jinx was TWELVE!" she held out her arms to emphasize the huge sleeves. "And they still don't fit me!"

I blushed, turning away from the girl. What was wrong with me? I couldn't explain the breathless feeling coming over me. I frowned out at the trees, now lit by glimmering shafts of sunlight only marred by the shadow of the large house still blocking the rising sun. I couldn't handle not being able to explain things… which was probably why I loved learning so much, why I threw myself at any and all mysteries. I shook my head and turned back to the slightly dejected girl behind me.

"I think it looks great." I said, putting on a smile that would have been genuine if it hadn't been for doubts about the girl I was trying to reassure.

At that moment Kain's head popped outside, "Um… Luna? I'd get back in here if I was you…"

"Huh, why?"

"Jinx is tearing the house apart looking for you. Something about… hair… and… color…? Well anyway just get back in here."

Luna shrugged, giving me one last searching glance, as if trying to decide something, then turned and followed Kain into the house.

I let out my bated breath, and leaned back on the railing, elbows resting on the sturdy wood. Something soft and furry brushed against my shoulder and I jumped in surprise, turning around to find Vinny rubbing his head on me, I had forgotten all about the little guy. I let out a relieved breath, glad that my fear was superfluous, and reached out to grab the griffin rubbing up against me. Vinny sat limply in my grasp, purring like a tractor, his paws curled onto his chest and his back feet in the air. I was instantly comforted by the warm ball of fluff, glad to have something conventional to hold on to after the rest of this insane morning.

A faint humming overhead caught my attention, and I tilted my head back to search the sky. Almost immediately I spotted the outline of an aircraft, a lucky break considering its expensive 'mirage' camouflage that blended the machine nearly perfectly into the sky.

"That's military grade equipment," I muttered to myself, watching the plane as it quickly and silently passed overhead.

After a minute of profound silence I shoved myself off the railing—which had been biting uncomfortably into my back—and walked into the house with Vinny still curled complacently in my arms. My mind was whirling again with the new mystery of the aircraft. What could all of this mean?

The usual chaos of my surroundings was restored as I stepped over the threshold. Loud music blasted from speakers placed strategically around the large room for optimal acoustics. Jinx, instead of fixing Luna's hair in the bathroom, had the girl sitting cross-legged on the couch as she snipped at her hair… which was now much… shorter. Kain was resting on the rafters, his light blue wings hanging down on either side of him. Luna was staring up at him with wide eyes, clearly in awe. It hadn't occurred to me that she hadn't seen Kain's wings yet, but of course she hadn't, as he usually hid them with his power of illusion.

Jinx's head snapped up at the sound of the door closing, then went straight back down once she realized it was only me entering the room. She continued snipping at Luna's hair, layering the back short and spiky while the front remained long. She tilted her head, apparently satisfied with the cut, then picked up a purple comb with a little dial on it.

I walked across the short space between us and sat in a chair opposite the couch. I watched inattentively as Jinx combed through the long hair framing Luna's face, leaving streaks of blue trailing where ever the comb brushed through. I'd seen the contraption before, a device in the comb worked with the hair pigment, changing the actual color rather than dying it. The dial on the side was how you chose the color. Jinx used it frequently to change the color of her own hair. After a few more brushes through Luna's bangs, Jinx grinned and pulled a hand mirror out of her bag for Luna to look.

"I would ask if you like it, but that's obvious!" Jinx crooned, clapping her hands in excitement. "I knew you liked as soon as I started! I've always wanted to do this with my hair but it doesn't seem to want me to cut it." She grabbed a strand of her waist-length blonde hair and demonstrated her point, hacking off a sizeable chunk of hair, only to have the hair grow back to the same length.

Kain dropped gracefully to the floor and strode over to Jinx, "Maybe that's the universe telling you not to mess with perfection." he said, pulling a hand through said tresses.

I snorted at Kain's words, but didn't take my eyes off the griffin in my lap, who was intensely focused on killing my hoody's zipper. Kain glared at me, but didn't move to hit me as he usually would have done. Instead he seemed to have noticed Luna, who had dropped the hand mirror and had a strand of her hair caught between her fingers, looking at it with clear fascination.

"how'd you do this Jinx?" She asked, her big, dark eyes fixed intently on the blue hair.

Jinx leaned over, brushing her fingers through Luna's hair and fussing with her bangs. "That little comb does the color, and I have some other stuff too. A lengthening iron, a color brush, and et cetera. I'm certain I'll show you everything eventually."

Luna nodded, shaking her head to get the bangs out of her eyes, and causing Jinx to tense in agitation at her fussing being undone. The girls went back and forth for several minutes, talking about some important things, but mostly only frivolous banter. Kain came to sit next to Theo, and turned on the television—which hadn't changed much since Luna's time. The girl seemed to be feeling a little better, but that could be an illusion, after all, her whole life had just been turned inside out.

"You guys." Luna suddenly piped up, standing. "I think I'm going to go to my room and sit down... or something." She looked down at her feet, then back up at me, our eyes meeting for a split second before she looked away abashedly. "I just need a... break."

I nodded, giving her what I hoped was a reassuring look. Jinx swept back her long hair and spoke comfortingly to the girl.

"Take as much time as you need sweetie. We'll all stay here so you know where to find us if you need anything." Jinx then reached and ruffled Luna's hair in a big sisterly way and gave her a warm smile.

Luna smiled shyly back and walked away, we all watched until the door shut behind her. Levi reentered the room and sat down next to Jinx. The four of us sat in silence for a moment, knowing that now was the time to talk.

"So what do we think?" Asked Kain, his voice breaking through the tense silence. He leaned forward and looked at each of us in turn, the question reflected in his blue eyes.

"I don't see any reason not to trust her." Levi said, leaning back against the couch in a nonchalant manner.

I gave my twin a disparaging look, but didn't say anything, he already knew I was feeling ambivalent about the whole matter. I just sighed and nudged Vinny out of my lap, preparing for a serious talk.

"You don't trust her, Theo." I jumped at Kain's voice, and turned to find him studying my face with his signature piercing stare.

I forced a tense smile. "Is it that obvious?"

"She might not have noticed, but the rest of us can tell when you've something on your mind." Kain's gaze stayed fixed on me for a moment, then moved to Jinx as she continued his thought.

"Your eyes get distant, your brow lowers over that intense, golden gaze of yours, and you purse your lips." I lowered my head and looked self consciously away from Jinx, who was grinning playfully at me.

"It's an appealing face," She continued, "you look like a tortured genius." She paused, a reflective expression coming over her. "Which isn't too far off the mark now I think about it."

I waved a hand dismissively, let her think what she liked, I still had something important to say.

"Fine, Fine, it's true I don't trust her. How could I? This is a strange thing that happened this morning," I looked around at my three companions, "and we can all agree on at least that much. Can't we?"

Kain nodded, "It's true that this is strange, but Jinx trusts her," Here he looked at Jinx, his eyes betraying his unwavering confidence in her, "and the future is almost always the truth, given a few small changes, even a manipulator couldn't tamper with that."

"I feel no threat from her." Jinx reassured, looking at me with serious eyes. "If there is something wrong it has nothing to do with that girl."

"I saw a plane just now." I finally admitted, looking down at my feet. "A mirage,"

"You spotted one of those things?" Asked Jinx, her eyes wide. "Wow, Theo... I'm impressed, that's quite a feat, even for you."

I shook my head agitatedly. "That's not the point, Jinx. Someone could be watching this land. I know we've hidden our presence well, but I can't stop thinking about it!" I put my elbows on my knees and dropped my head into my hands, rubbing my temples to dispel the ache growing there.

"Don't tell me none of you are worried about this?" I asked pleadingly, looking up at my friends through the bangs hanging over my eyes.

Kain stood up immediately. "Which way was it flying?" He asked, his tone serious.

"West."

"Maybe I can follow it." He said, walking towards the door leading to the deck.

I stood up in a flash of movement and was next to Kain before he could take another step. By the time anyone saw I was out of my seat, my hand was on Kain's shoulder. "No, no... don't waste your time, it flew by over twenty minutes ago."

Kain's whole body was rigid, his eyes fixed murderously on me, I quickly raised my hand off his shoulder and stepped back. Kain looked down, shaking his head, "I HATE it when you do that, Theo." He muttered, pulling a hand down his face. "You know I hate it when you do that."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I said, raising my hands submissively. "I forgot for a moment..."

Kain sighed and turned to me, his eyes softening. "No, you didn't..."

I looked up at him and put my hands in my pockets, unable to deny his words. I gave the winged boy an expectant look, and waited for him to 'un-ruffle his feathers', so to speak.

"Well then, Flash," Kain said, using a nickname he knew I hated. "What do you think we should do?"

For the first time in a couple hours, I found myself smiling genuinely.

"I think we should call Mr. White."

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Oooooooh Suspenseful ending huh? Don't get your hopes up, I'm not giving any hints! Unless you ask reeeeeaaally nicely ^.~

I hope you liked it and will stick around for more! Until next time.

~Loli


	6. Aliases and Academies

_Hey everyone! First of all I have some pictures for you! I really would like you to see a couple of my characters, so I've drawn them up! Not that I wouldn't draw them anyway... I do love them so much. ^^_

_**There are two pictures of Theo**: One by me: www. lolita-bat. deviantart .com/gallery/#/d3hte40 (just take out the spaces ^^)  
_

_And one commissioned for me by my lovliest, most dearest, most darlingest friend for my b-day! By Suobi-chan:_ http:/ lolita-bat. deviantart .com/favourites/?offset=24#/d3hft9n (again, take out the spaces)

**_Kain:_** http:/ lolita-bat. deviantart .com/favourites/?offset=24#/d3hfsu8 _(again not mine, this was commissioned for my friends b-day, as he's her character :3)  
_

_**Luna: **_http:/ lolita-bat. deviantart .com/gallery/#/d37yx5v_ (the quality of this one is kinda blah, so sorry)_

_I don't have any of Jinx uploaded! *cries* But I'll have some in the next chapter hopefully, as well as Levi and one more of Luna. Ok! Now to reading! thank you!**  
**_

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Ch. 6

I lay in my egg-like bed, staring up at the white plastic ceiling as the lights changed colors and stained the enclosure endless shades of rainbow. I was trying not to think about everything that had happened today, I was pretty sure if I really thought about it I would break down and cry. I didn't like crying. So I kept my mind blank, and continued to stare at the colors.

A soft creak from the door sent my heart fluttering into my throat, and made me jump up into a kneeling position, my hands clenched into fists on my knees. My head jerked towards the noise and my wide russet eyes met a pair of gold ones. It was one of the twins, I couldn't tell which, standing behind the door, looking apologetic.

"Sorry for barging in." He apologized, giving me an assuring grin as he walked into the room. "We just thought you might want some lunch, and Jinx wants to talk to you about some stuff."

I rolled my shoulders to release my unnecessary tension and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, hopping down to the ground—which was farther away than it ought to be. I walked up to... Theo... or was it Levi...? I couldn't tell the difference.

"Alright, just lead the way... um..." I screwed up my face and pointed to him, trying and failing to distinguish between the two boys.

"Levi." The boy said laughingly. His light reception of my confusion confirmed my suspicion that it wasn't uncommon for the twins to be confused for one another.

"Right," I responded, smiling. "I'm sorry, it's just that you two are so-"

"Similar?" Levi finished, grinning again. "Yeah, we are. Funny how that happens."

I giggled, actually _giggled_... It felt silly, but I hadn't laughed so easily in long while, so the feeling of it made me grin. I stayed smiling as Levi gestured for me to follow him back into the main room... or house... or whatever it was.

"Hey sweetie!" Jinx greeted, waving at me as I came into the room.

Everyone was sitting in mismatched chairs surrounding a huge table that stretched the length of the room alongside the floor to ceiling window. I glanced around the table, then stopped in my tracks and stared at the one thing in the room that was out of place.

Sitting between Jinx and Theo, on the opposite side of the table from where I was standing was a man. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties, but dressed more like he was eighty, and was strangely attractive despite his age. His impeccable posture paired with his formal clothing gave him an air of superiority that demanded respect.

"Good morning miss Luna." He said in a voice that matched his appearance, formal and strong with an elegant British accent. He stood up and bowed, gesturing to the chairs. "Please sit down, my dear," he accompanied his words with a warm smile that crinkled the skin around his gold monocle, "we have quite a bit to discuss."

I straightened my back and forced my shoulders down, nervously sitting down across from the man. Levi took the seat next to me, and on my other side Kain shifted in his chair to examine my expression, which I'm sure was less than relaxed looking.

"Luna," Kain said, waiting until I looked up at him to continue. "This is Mr. White, he's the principle of our school." Kain gestured to the man sitting across from me, casting his head down respectfully as he introduced his superior.

"I've just spent a few minutes talking with these vagabonds about you." Mr. White stated, examining me with piercing, blue eyes. "You seem to be a very intriguing young lady, Luna."

"Your sources must be unreliable sir," I contradicted, fidgeting nervously, though I managed to hold his intimidating gaze, "I've known myself a very long time, and I can tell you that I'm anything but intriguing."

Mr. White smiled, "Whatever you wish to believe, my dear." He lifted a tin mug to his lips and took a sip of what I assumed was tea, then sat up even straighter—if that was possible—and spoke purposefully.

"Well dear, I'm not here solely for the pleasure of everyone's company," As he said this he looked at the other teenagers with an endearing scowl, "We must discuss the issue of your enrollment at Ignatius Preparatory School."

I frowned in confusion, I hadn't even considered school, which was stupid... I should have figured this out as soon as Kain had introduced Mr. White as a principle. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why was I stupid? I looked around the table, wondering which of my new companions had thought of such a minute detail so soon after my arrival.

"We've got the paper work done," Jinx piped in, taking a sip of her own tea. "But we need to brief you on your new identity." On the word 'identity' she put down her mug and wiggled her fingers spookily.

"I get an alias?" I asked, grinning widely at the prospect.

"You sure do." Said Theo, "We have to hide the fact that you're a manipulator, because the System... oh I guess you would call it the government... will snatch up any people with those kinds of powers in the blink of an eye..."

I looked at him nervously. "You mean they'd kidnap me?" Just the thought of being abducted in an already strange environment made my spin tingle.

"All I'd have to do is look away for a moment and you'd be gone." Theo answered in a dark tone, his eyes growing distant.

The table was silent for a minute, all of us brooding over this somber thought. I looked up at each person in turn, every one of them had the same mournful look. It made me think that they had all had someone taken from them in this manner.

"Can I use my real name?" I asked, seeing as I actually really liked that name. "It's Luna Gale... Is it too weird?"

Theo blinked a few times, seeming to come back to reality before flashing me a smile. "I don't see why you couldn't use that. Lots of kids go by old-fashioned names anyway, sometimes they're even legitimate."

Jinx looked at me seriously. "Yeah, but most of the time they aren't. Listen sweetie, if we tell you not to talk to someone, or to do something you might think is strange, I want you to listen without question." Her multi-colored eyes suddenly changed to a very solemn grayish-purple. "Understand?"

"Yes ma'am." I said seriously, slightly shocked at her tone. After a moment I lowered my eyes to the floor to escape Jinx's burning gaze.

"That's my girl." Jinx said, ruffling my hair, her tone lightening. "So who do you want to be?" She asked, looking at me intently, her eyes now a bright green-blue.

"What about a shape-shifter?" I asked. "I've always wanted to do that!"

"No, no." Jinx declined, shaking her head, "You can't _actually_ shape-shift, it has to be inconspicuous..." She stopped and thought for a moment, tapping her nose with her index finger.

"A Neko would be good..." Theo said, leaning an elbow on the table.

"That _isn't_ inconspicuous!" Jinx snarled, hitting Theo up the back of the head in a loving—though slightly painful looking—manner. "Cat ears tend to be... well, noticeable."

"I could have cat ears?" I asked, my face brightening.

"And a tail." Theo added casually, earning himself another smack from Jinx.

"Don't encourage her!" Jinx hissed as Theo rubbed his sore head grudgingly. Then she looked me up and down, conflicting emotions playing across her expression. "Although it would be adorable..."

"Well, Children." Mr. White interjected, standing up and looking over our little congregation lovingly. "I really must be off, I _do_ have a life of my own you know..." He paused, "Well... sometimes..."

"But Mr. White, we haven't decided on her power yet!" Levi denoted. Everyone at the table looked pleading at the principle as if to say 'Don't leave us!'.

"Really, Children, any power will do as long as she can act the part..." The principle put on a dashing grin and bent down, taking my hand. "It was lovely to meet you Miss Luna." He stooped lower and kissed my fingers lightly before straightening up and heading towards a something that looked like a blocked doorframe, the only thing it led to was a wall… how strange. Mr. White punched a code into a keypad on the side of the frame, and a thin membrane blossomed into life from the center of the empty space within the frame, shimmering iridescently like the soapy film of a bubble.

"No!" Jinx cried, "Don't leave us Mr. White!" She jumped out of her seat and hung around his neck like she was some sort of strange ornament.

"Darling, I really must go, and as much as I enjoy playing the father figure for you delinquents-"

"If you really loved us you'd stay longer!" Jinx interrupted, making puppy eyes at the man.

Mr. White sighed, patting her head lightly. "Sorry for this, dear."

"Sorry for wha- Aaaaaahhhh..." Jinx seemed to melt to the ground, and lay there in a disgruntled heap.

"For that." Mr. White elaborated, taking a step towards the doorframe—which I thought must be some sort of portal. "I'll see you vagabonds tomorrow at school... Luna," He paused and winked at me, "don't let these delinquents get you into too much trouble." With that he stepped through the membrane, and was gone. Soon after he passed through the portal, the membrane popped, leaving the white doorframe looking like a useless prop once again.

"So that's our eccentric principle." Kain said, smiling.

"Now, why would you call him eccentric?" I asked, loading my voice heavily with sarcasm, and then smiling back at Kain.

"I'll let you figure that out," Kain replied in an equally sarcastic tone, ruffling my hair. He then looked up at the others. "I really think she would do well as a Neko, it even explains a bit of the smallness."

Jinx slowly raised herself off the floor and wobbled over to the table, flopping into her red chair next to Theo. "I thought the man controlled spiders..." She grumbled disparagingly, "Only spiders, when did he learn to do this?" The sun coming in through the windows lighted up the air around Jinx, and I watched as tiny dust motes swirled around her as she sat down huffily.

"So, final decision on a power?" Levi asked, propping his elbows on the table and taking a swig of hot chocolate. "I think it should be Neko too."

Kain and Theo nodded in agreement, and when the other three looked at me I shrugged and said. "As long as it won't get me weird looks from people…"

"Fine," Jinx pouted, crossing her arms huffily. "She can be a Neko, I'm almost certain I have some ears and a tail from Halloween a few years ago…" With this she got up from her seat, beckoning me to follow her.

I bounced into place beside Jinx and looked up at her as we walked across the room, away from the boys, who were now talking about video games. "So what is a Neko exactly?" I asked as she turned the knob, making the magic dial click to purple for her room.

"It's a person with cat-like qualities, usually a tail and ears, or cat eyes. Sometimes they even have heightened senses." She opened the door and we walked through into her room, the door shutting behind us. Jinx strode immediately to the closet door and opened it with a flourish. I sat down on a round purple chair and waited patiently, my hands folded in my lap.

"I'm pretty sure the original Nekos were the result of System experimentation, because mutation doesn't usually go that far that fast." Jinx explained, looking back towards me.

Jinx paused, looking inside the open doorway. "This is not my closet…" She shut the door and opened it again, this time loud electronic music boomed into the room, making the walls shudder and the inside of my chest hum to the beat. "Still not my closet!" She grumbled, slamming the door shut again. She went through this several times, until she finally threw the door open a final time and breathed a sigh of relief. "Here it is." She stepped into the space, beckoning me to follow.

I stepped once again into the massive room, wondering if this closet—like the other rooms—was in a different house from Jinx's actual room. The space was huge for a closet, almost a room in and of itself. Racks and racks of clothing hung on every wall, all of the shelves back-lit so everything was easy to find. There were large round seats in the middle of the room to sit on, and huge full-length mirrors were placed in every wall space available, the lights surrounding the mirrors were old-fashioned light bulbs, making it look like backstage Broadway. At the end of the room were several armoires with rows of drawers, which were also filled with clothes. The color scheme was dark and gothic, the walls plastered with dark wallpaper, and all the furniture reminiscent of a Victorian parlor. There were clothes draped everywhere, from beautiful dresses—which looked untouched—to ripped fishnet and mini-skirts. The overall effect of the room was, put lightly, breath taking and whimsical.

Jinx dug feverishly through a pile of striped tights and t-shirts, throwing fabric everywhere, then pulled something out of the jumbled mess, exclaiming. "Got it!" She turned to me, holding up a long tail and a pair of ears.

I looked at the props for a bit, scrutinizing them. "Are you sure people will be convinced I'm part cat with just those?" I asked, looking without conviction at the limp tail as it swung back and forth in Jinx's grasp.

Jinx gave me a devilish grin. "Put them on and find out."

The tail and ears both had a type of fiber on the ends of them that stuck to skin or clothes by actually bonding the molecules loosely together, like the feet of a gecko, but a tad stronger so it wouldn't come off until you wanted it to. I put the tail on first, sticking it just below the base of my spine so it didn't interfere with my jeans. After that I reached for the ears, but before I could grab them, I heard a swish behind me and felt something hit a shelf, knocking a jumble of trinkets to the ground. I spun around, shocked and very confused; I caught a glimpse of the tail, then watched in bewilderment as I controlled its motion back and forth. I brought up the tail in front of me and stroked it, feeling the touch of my own hand on the fur. Amazing. It was like my nervous system was now connected to the tail, it was like having an extra limb.

"See?" Jinx said, giving me a knowing smile. "Think it will convince people?"

"Yeah..." I said in an affected tone, still petting the tail, fascinated by the new feeling. "Do they just sell these at Halloween stores?"

"No, Theo actually made these, there's nothing else like them. No one will suspect they aren't real." Jinx handed me the ears as she said this, and I put them on, marveling as I controlled the swivel forward and back. I could even hear through them.

"This is unreal." I said, touching the tips of my new ears. "How did Theo do it?"

Jinx shrugged. "Beats me. If I were you I wouldn't ask, Theo's explanations tend to get a little long winded."

I made a non-committal sound as an answer and strode over to the mirror, watching my tail swing back and forth behind me, absorbed by the hypnotizing motion.

"Ok Luna, go to your room and get ready." Jinx said, picking up some clothes from the floor and tossing them into a pile.

I turned around and eyed her curiously. "Get ready for what?"

Jinx twisted around to look at me, her now familiar mischievous grin playing across her lips. "I did tell you we were going out tonight didn't I?"

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_ YAY!_ _I like this chapter! I hope you guys all do too ^^ Thanks as always for reading! Comments are appreciated!_

~Lolita


	7. City Lights

_Hello again! Sorry I've taken so long to upload anything... i've been lazy, sorry! Anyway, to everyone still reading this, thank you! I appreciate you all so much! _

_Comments and Pms and readers in general are loved! _**  
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**Ch. 7~**

My head bobbed up and down with the motion of the car as it sped along the deserted highway. An endless landscape of green flashed past, too blurred by our motion to see properly. We had been driving for a good twenty minutes already and, from the look of this highway, we were only getting started. Theo's eyes focused steadily on the quickly passing asphalt, Jinx's head bobbed to the music in the passenger seat up front, and I sat between Kain and Levi in the back. My head was comfortable against Kain's arm, but my seat belt was still a bit too high, and dug into my collarbone despite the fact that it had been strapped with a child safety clip to lower it so it was across my chest instead of my neck.

Jinx had wanted me to sit in front at first, until Theo had pointed out that I was actually about the height of a seven or eight year old—a fact that made me red with frustration. At that point Jinx grudgingly agreed that the back would probably be safer, and rode shotgun.

A question had been nagging at the back of my mind for the entire ride, and I finally turned my head on Kain's arm to look up at him.

"Kain, Why are we driving and not using that teleporter thing?"

"No particular reason. We just enjoy driving, besides, I'm not sure how you would handle the portal." Kain answered, his blue eyes softening as they wandered from the window to my face.

"First timers usually get sick." Levi elaborated.

"Oh." I said, turning my head straight again. Kain patted my head softly, my eyes twitching closed slightly with each touch.

Theo turned a bit in his seat so I could just see his profile. "I'm sorry if you didn't want to drive Luna… it's actually still about an hour til' we get there."

"Oh, I don't mind driving. I just wanted to know, I was kind of surprised you guys even had a car." I said, looking down and folding my hands neatly in my lap.

"It's one of the only vehicles that is easy to register and is inconspicuous on roads like this one." Jinx explained, turning around to face us in the back. "Plus we just like cars." She added with a grin.

I grinned back at her, settling back into my seat. The first spatters of rain began to hit the windshield, and soon a whole chorus of raindrops thundered around the car.

We crossed a few rivers on our way into the city, and more than our share of small lakes. The others took turns explaining things to me, like how we were actually in Washington State, about two hours outside of Seattle, and that much of the area around the Cascade Mountains was all nature reserve land owned by Jinx's friend Leo, and that was where we lived. The government now was a lot like parliament, made up of a board of representatives. But unlike parliament, these officials were not voted into power, but rather placed there by the real super power of the country, the church. This information shocked me.

"But, religion is supposed to be separate from the government!" I exclaimed, not believing what I'd just heard.

"That may have been true in your time, Luna." Theo explained, a hint of sadness in his voice. "But after the apocalypse, religion became one of the only things holding society together, and from there it grew into the main pillar of our social structure and our government."

I supposed that made sense. People must have had nothing to cling to in those times, and with only faith and hope to turn to, religion had taken over. Gaining back the power it had held in times long past.

The car grew silent again, save for the drum of raindrops playing in the background, and I yawned. The sound of the rain combined with the rhythmic motion of the car was very soothing. It had been a very long day already; maybe I would rest my eyes, just for a bit... I allowed my heavy eyelids to drop closed, welcoming the darkness.

"Luna." A voice near my ear startled me back into awareness.

"Hhnnn…?" Oh… had I fallen asleep? I blinked and stretched out my arms, taking in a big breath, and filling my lungs to the brim. My right side was warm, and I looked over to find that I had fallen asleep leaning against Levi. A pair of gold eyes smiled down at me.

"Welcome back." Levi said, "We're almost there so perk up."

I flashed a little grin at Levi and leaned forward to see out the window, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. The rain was slowly dissipating, and the sun was setting, staining the puffy rain clouds pink on the western horizon. I looked farther ahead and spotted a dark shadow against the pink and orange of the setting sun. It was a hazy skyline, dim and shapeless at first, but growing ever clearer as we approached. The distant outline of the Space Needle, which I had never before seen in person, rose to meet us as we rolled closer to the city, the setting sun cutting through the last of the rain. Hello Seattle.

Kain, Jinx, Theo, Levi, and I strode down the crowded streets of Seattle... which was very different now... It was nearly night time, and because the buildings were widely spaced I could see a fair portion of darkening sky, which was surprisingly void of light pollution from the city, allowing a few early stars to shine. The buildings seemed to be piled on top of one another, but somehow managed to retain a graceful, flowing quality despite their size. The architecture was a mixture of old-world gothic and gravity defying structures that stretched beyond my imagination; I even saw some pre-me style buildings from my own time.

I tugged at the hem of my shirt, taking my nerves out on my clothing, my tail twitched nervously behind me, but my ears were pricked forward curiously. My eyes flickered all around, taking in everything they could. The clothes people were wearing were the equivalent of punk in my time, a period Jinx and the others called 'pre-apocalypse' or 'P.A.' anything from that time was lovingly nick-named 'pre-me'. Clever right? Apparently there was a huge nuclear war years after I was sucked forward in time, leaving much of the world devastated, after that the rate of mutations in human DNA increased, and a new species emerged, Gifteds. Apparently, like in my case, the 'gifted' mutation had existed before the war, but only became the dominant trait after the nuclear interference. Now nearly everyone in this world had special abilities.

For some reason there were a lot of redheads and blondes now—Theo said the population had 'bottled-necked' or something, whatever that meant. In contrast, there weren't many people with black hair like Theo and Levi. The two boys must have been used to the gawking, because they didn't so much as blink at the stares they received from passersby, who sometimes went as far as to whisper to each other and point at the jet black tresses. I also suspected the twins got stared at because they were _absolutely gorgeous..._ but that could have been just me. As for myself... I was a downright spectacle. I had dark hair, dark eyes—another rare feature—and at 5'6'' I was almost a foot under average height, which was 6'3'' for girls and 6'8'' for guys. Needless to say, there was a lot of gawking, I felt like a blonde person in Japan.

I kept behind Jinx to avoid the hoards of business commuters walking home, peaking out from behind her to see the spectacle that was modern window shopping. Seamless panes of glass stretched far down the street, housing all kinds of shops. My eyes greedily took in the brightly colored sweets of a candy store, the shocking purples and greens of a punk boutique, and the rich creams of a bakery. A warm, sweet smell wafted over me, and I inhaled deeply. I looked ahead to see a street vendor selling candied nuts; the scent of slightly burnt sugar and salt was intoxicating. It was then I realized we hadn't eaten dinner yet, my stomach sat like an empty shell under my ribs. I looked away from the vendor. Later, I told myself, I would think about food later.

The wide avenues gave way to a bustling plaza, an old world fountain roaring at its center. A speck of gold light caught my attention as it floated in front of my eyes. I raised my hand and caught the little orb on my finger, then carefully cupped my hands around it. It was smooth like a stone, and pulsed warmly under my fingers. I looked up at the sky, wondering where the light had come from. Far above the plaza my eyes met a spectacle, a soft gold light illuminated the city in the form of glowing spheres hanging all over the sky. They were a lot like street lamps, but only in their function, for they were much more elegant than the towering poles I was used to. I decided the spheres most closely resembled a twinkling swarm of fireflies hanging weightlessly over the streets. I looked down to find that Jinx and the others had gotten ahead of me, and I clutched my little orb to my chest, hurrying to catch up. As we continued walking I noticed that the gold orbs were floating everywhere; lighting everything from sidewalks, to the very tops of the buildings. Upon closer inspection of the skyscrapers, I found that there were walkways laced in between and along the sides buildings, so high up they that looked as thin as needles.

I tugged at Theo's sleeve. "Theo, what are those things?" I asked, pointing up at the lofty walkways.

"Those are skywalks, they're very handy on rainy days. You can get between all the buildings without setting foot outside. Or you have the open skywalks." He pointed at a nearby one that bordered the edge of a building forty stories up. "Those are more like bridges architecturally speaking. The city has these all over, it's like having two levels of streets." I gawked at Theo, the city was huge as it was, but two levels of streets?

"Keep up you two!" I looked up to see Jinx standing up ahead, waiting next to Kain and Levi with a hand on her hip. I ran to them, leaving Theo chuckling behind me as he tortured Jinx with his relaxed pace.

We were getting farther away from the shopping district now, and into a sketchier part of town. The lighting here was scarcer, and the neon signs were no longer the pinks, blues, and yellows that dominated in the shopping district, but more reds and dark, flickering purples. I opened my hands a centimeter, and peeked at my little gold orb, then, quickly deciding a course of action, shoved the speck of light into my pocket. My shoes tapped on the cracked and abused pavement, echoing off of the dark buildings on either side of us. A tingle crept up my spine, and I turned my head to glance behind us… nothing. I quickened my steps, and kept very close to the rest of the group, feeling gazes that didn't exist trained on my back.

A group of guys passed us, talking loudly; they bumped almost purposefully into Jinx as they passed, then laughed raucously. Jinx lowered her head, her long hair falling into her face as she turned slowly towards the large group of boys.

"Hey, Jack Asses!" Theo called out, stepping in front of Jinx, "What was that for?"

Both groups stopped and faced each other; I peeked out from between Kain and Jinx to watch the scene. The other group consisted of about ten or eleven boys, all of them tall like all the other people of this time, but more muscular than I had seen. All of them were fairly young, mostly teenagers, but they looked more suited to these streets than to a high school. Theo, Levi, and Kain stood taller than most of the other boys, but my friends were of a leaner build. Of course, this didn't stop them from looming over the other group, eyes glinting fiercely. I glanced up at Jinx's face through her hair and jumped back in shock, grabbing instinctively onto the shirt of the boy closest behind me, which happened to be Kain. Jinx's expression was livid, and her eyes were a smoldering black-cherry red under her long bangs. My fluffed up tail twitched nervously behind me, and my ears laid back flat on my head. Kain looked down at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Is this the best place to be right now, Sweetheart?" He asked, sighing slightly.

Oh… Now that I thought about it, it probably hadn't been a good idea. Jinx had just startled me so badly, I hadn't been thinking. I looked over my shoulder to see the group of boys leering at me, they probably hadn't even seen me in the midst of my tall friends, but in my shock I had jumped out from behind them. The darkness seemed to press at my back menacingly, and I turned swiftly, hiding behind Kain.

"What? We weren't hurting anybody." Said one of the larger boys, stepping out of the group and swaggering up confidently to face Theo. "She was in my way is all, and pretty girls should be careful this side of town. Who's the little Neko by the way? Why'd you bring her along, she can't be more than ten." He smirked, running a long, white-fingered hand through his red hair, which was slicked back into edgy spikes.

I blushed, inching behind Kain then hissing at the boy. "Don't be so cocky Carrot-top! I hear being a jerk makes your hair fall out, and I'm _not_ a little kid!" I felt my face grow hot with anger, and my knuckles went white against the edge of Kain's shirt.

"Ooh, kitty got claws." He cackled, tilting his head back and planting a hand on his hip. "I like em' feisty." He added with a cold sneer, his pale, peridot green eyes pierced through me, making my stomach twist with discomfort. I managed to keep my chin high though, and merely narrowed my eyes menacingly. Kain reached out and pushed me further behind him, keeping his hand on my shoulder as if to say 'stay out of this'. I peeked out from under his arm anyway, too curious to miss what happened next.

"Listen, we don't want trouble…" Kain explained, holding his hands out palms up.

"Tough luck. You _got_ trouble, we won't back down from a group of pansies like you." The leader snorted, cracking his knuckles dramatically. I was getting the feeling this was no normal group of young thugs, the more I looked at them the more suspicious they seemed. There were at least ten guys in the group, which was odd for just a group of friends, and every one of them looked like trouble, the kind of person you avoided in a dark alley.

Theo stepped forward, coming face to face with the red-haired boy. His head was a good three inches higher than the bully's, and his pale gold eyes gleamed intimidatingly from under his mess of black hair. "When he says 'we don't want trouble' he means 'back off'. You're the one causing problems here."

"Ooh, tough guy." The boy mocked, his lips curling up at the edges. "Can you back up that act of yours?"

Theo rolled his eyes and turned away from the other boy. "Come on guys, let's go…"

The redhead stepped after Theo, planting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't you walk away from me you Sooty prick!"

Theo froze, his shoulders tensing up with anger.

The other boy grinned maliciously. "Did you hear me, you Stupid Na—"

Before the boy could utter another word, Theo spun around, punching the redhead across the face with a sickening crack so loud that it echoed off the surrounding buildings. The boy stumbled back, clutching his jaw, and looked at Theo with a mix of confusion and anger, as if he was expecting something to happen. Shouts of anger came up from the group of boys, and the tension in the air shattered as the thugs rushed in on our little group.

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_Ooh, what next? I'll have the next chapter up soon. Don't you worry~!_

(('Sooty' is a derogatory term for people from the 'Third Nation'—also referred to as 'nationals' and 'blots'—who more commonly have dark colored hair, skin, and/or eyes. Any of these traits could earn you one of these hurtful names. I'll have more info on the "Third Nation" later on!))


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